this is me now

6.25.2008

These are announcing Grandchild #2!

i dont normally get flowers----but these were a wonderful surprise!
they sat next to me the whole way home from our show----made me smile the whole time!

...these were delivered to the hotel in San Antonio right after my show---i think they are the most beautiful flowers I have ever gotten! Jasmine & David surprised me with this lovely basket---to announce their baby! 20 years ago---almost 21----I sent our mothers a bouquet of flowers announcing we were pregnant with Jasmine!

6.22.2008

...okay...so he still has work to do...

this weekend we have been married for 28 years! 28 years of joy, trials, prayers answered---not always in the way we thought they would or should be---but in that same thought---we learned that we arent always in control! We've lived in California, Arizona, southeast Texas---but Fort Worth is home. We have been blessed in ways that cant be measured...we've been tested in ways we didnt expect! I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who loves me and really wants the best for our family---he works hard and sacrifices for his family....and plays hard with his family.

and on this auspicious occasion---where is he? in colorado with Ace for a week on a scout high adventure----yeah, he still has work to do.

6.16.2008

10 reasons David Jeppson is perfect

1. he lets me blog about him---and just smiles---he puts up with so many of us just running circles around him...and he goes on about his business.
2. he loves babies---his happiest sundays are when he gets to just hold a baby or toddler---he brings out his Blackberry and shows them the pictures on it---he lets them push buttons and grab his face---that is pure joy to him
3. he chooses his words carefully---when i cook something new---and i love trying new recipes---if it isnt something that he really liked, he will say "that wasnt bad"---I'll ask him if i should make it again and he'll respond--"no, thats allright"
4. he is very creative in giving great gifts---he is very clever in his gifts and presentation of said gifts---whether it is having the kids line up on Mothers Day and have them enter the room a la King & I style or having the entire family on different phones at the same time to sing me a song from Juno 5. his employees like him--they really really like him---i admire ambition---and david has always been ambitious in his career---and is very successful in it---and his employees admire him as a boss and as a compassionate listener.
6. he is patient---he thinks about things before he reacts and encourages others to do the same ...
7. he is goofy----he dances and sings---not well---but doesnt let that stop him---he puts himself out there to have fun 8. he works hard---he eagerly accepts 'honey-do' assignments---gardens, handyman around the house, re-decorating with me...tearing apart waterbeds and throwing them out the bedroom window because he realized there were just too many parts to try to take it apart and then put it together and sell it from our front yard !9. he is mature---he reads his scriptures and prays because he truly has faith and lives what he believes, he reads the Ensign and Church News because he enjoys them, he eats pretty healthy, goes to bed because he has to get up---never a lot of fanfare---just does what he is supposed to do because he wants to...Mosiah 5:2 10. he loves me!

6.12.2008

...okay, I'll tag back...

i like to read Christmas letters (even the sugar-coated ones), i like to ---no----really like---nigh unto love---reading blogs---even of people i've never met (does that make me a stalker?)---and i enjoy reading the little tags that get sent around---informational minutia...i live vicariously...

so here are my answers to my cute niece, Jackie's, tag:
5 things I did 10 years ago
1.finished potty training my last child!
2.working as an interpreter
3. discovering marching band
4. counselor in the Primary Presidency at church
5. Girls Camp! went for 7 years straight!
5 things on my to do list
1. clean my closet
2. work on my Gospel Doctrine class in 2 weeks
3. print up all the itineraries for the reunion
4. clean my garage
5. clean out my desk drawers
5 favorite snacks/food
1. chocolate--cheap and milk
2. spaghetti at 11 p.m.---mine---no meat, Hunts Chunky Vegetable sauce, noodles cooked in sauce, onions
3. chocolate---m&m's, kisses, hugs
4. chips---cheddar cheese & sour cream or plain ripples
5. chocolate--fudgesicles---the thin ones
5 things I would do if I was a billionaire
1. Disneyworld cruise for everyone baby!
2. put away $999,000,ooo in very nice and safe investments
3. liposuction and a few nips & tucks
4. big house, one floor, with a pool and a maid
5. house accounts for each of my kids (notice I did not give them the money---a lovely way to maintain control!)
5 bad habits
1. eating chocolate
2. i'm very impatient
3. i'm a control freak
4. i bite my nails
5. i eat fast food too much
5 places I have lived
1. freeport, il
2. glendale, ca
3. provo, ut
4. yuma, az
5. fort worth, tx
5 people I tag (this means you guys have to answer the questions on your own blog--cut and paste,kiddos)
1. jasmine
2. eden
3. christie
4. cathy
5. david

6.07.2008

...from the fifty yard line

...in the fall,you'll find me sitting on the 50 yard line watching the activity on the field below---commenting to myself or to other fans around me---"go, go, go!" "No! so close!" "why did they do that?" "Yay! well played!" "Hit the line!"

and every fall i have a sunburn on one side of my body.

...driving to work the other day---got goosebumps! why? as i came up over a rise in the freeway---looking towards my left---there it was---framed by a rising sun---the L. D. Bell High School band on the grassy field next to the school---June marching camp. Tubas catching the sun and shimmering, framing the band.
..in 8 weeks the band will be practicing---and the fun begins...not necessarily for the kids--but for me---enjoying a root beer/banana sno-cone up in the bleachers of Pennington Field (football stadium)---watching the band do the same 16 bars of music for 30 minutes....saying hi to the familiar faces I've seen for the past 9 years---parents mostly---some, like me, without a kid marching!...band nerds...marching band nerds. ...this is not your father's marching band---this is 300 kids moving in unison at 180 beats per minute...thats fast---with their toes up---and playing music at the same time---hard music---and forming very detailed and intricate designs. youtube it---check it out---to get me started during the summer I follow DCI---and how do you not know that stands for Drum & Bugle Corps International---same as marching band---just no woodwinds....and how do you not know that!
(picture is none of my kids---but it is the drumline from 2005!)

...and then---on a lovely October Saturday ---on that 50 yard line---bundled up in a blanket (blue, of course) with Hot chocolate in my cup (it can be chilly at 8 a.m.)---til about noon---where I peel off the blanket and sweatshirt---still on the 50 yard line---i never leave that seat---til 10 in the evening (the sweatshirt is back on)---I will have watched 30-40 bands--some twice in one day...some with 30 kids--some with 300.....enjoyed each one for the effort, critiqued each one (in my mind)...from mid-September til mid-November---every weekend there is a marching contest...and I'm either volunteering (always ushering so I can watch) or I am watching.
...football is big here in Texas---and arent we fortunate that we have something to watch before and after half-time--cause it's all about the band....and my family is fortunate to be in Bell's school area. Bell is the National Marching Band Champion 2007. Leah, Lyric & Jasmine all marched with the band...which has won gold or silver at State everytime since my kids started marching (yes---I take full credit for that) (Texas State marching band competition is only held every other year---a travesty, I feel).... I am a big Bell fan---but more a marching band fan....my favorite show ever isnt a Bell show. I love the process, I love watching the kids learn, I play marching band games on the computer and I cant wait for the Wii marching band game to come out---yes, there is one. I dont like cute shows from big schools, I dont like shows with tarps (the kids trip)---and I dont like Aaron Copeland's Simple Gifts (one year I swear I heard it in 10 shows).

...Leah's baby is due right before Grand Nationals---very appropriate! I have suggested the name Raider (L.D. Bells mascot is the Blue Raider--see previous post regarding my guest room) or Jeremy (for the director).
....so, starting in September and going til November---you can call me any Saturday---but i'll only answer every 8 minutes (thats how long a show is)---

...and thats why i always have a one-sided sun-burn---because I never move from the 50 yard line.

6.06.2008

....its gonna be a boy!

yes---not two--and still not asian (see previous post)---but a boy it will be! and he will wear Old Navy (and apparently Steve & Barry's) Yay!so, instead of browsing for generic baby stuff---i get to focus on MANLY baby stuff---but with frogs of course---Leah has had her 'bring baby home from the hospital' outfit for 4 years--and of course it is frog-themed! so I continue with her theme....

are these shoes too girly? really cute with some jeans overalls and a green shirt!

6.04.2008

and at Music Man....shipoooping

...Music Man at Artisan---rehearsing---wearing out my poor knees! I missed nearly a week of rehearsal for my trip to my mom's---thank HEAVENS for a wonderful 'double' Andrea that caught me up---then the lights went out---
power outage and major electrical meltdown at the Artisan has delayed our opening---so we continue to rehearse---saving me totally! ----but a nightmare for the powers (no pun intended---okay---yes, I intended) that be... we open Thursday, June 5---break a leg!
Jasmine & David came up for the opening Saturday performance---so we just played all weekend with them. David helped me choose a laptop---yes--welcome to the 21st century, Meredith---it arrives this weekend!and we shopped at Steve & Barry's- (do you see a theme in their outfits---i love this look!)--what a great store--and if the quality holds up, Ace & I are totally doing all his school shopping there...and you are right, Michelle---not much for women or girls--but for guys it is great!

6.03.2008

where've i been?

took a quick jaunt up north to the land of my ancestors---Freeport, Il
My mom turned 40 twice---so Eden and I surprised mom with a quick weekend.
I flew to Chicago and caught a bus to Rockford, my brother Matt-- picked me up at the Clock Tower Inn (Matt works in Rockford)---we drove to mom's house--Matt walked in and chatted with mom while I walked into her kitchen and made noise---her reaction---not the "Oh My Goodness! What are you doing here! I am so surprised! How wonderful"---no it was "Oh! what are you doing here!"---thats it---she explained that it felt so normal to have me there---whatever. then the next night Eden called her and was chatting---that was my cue to open mom's door---so Eden could walk in! Eden got the reaction that I deserved! for mom's birthday we did her traditional Taco Bell birthday dinner! Taco Bell staff heard us singing to her (in harmony, thank you) so they brought her out the leis---not sure why Taco Bell has plastic leis---but it was funny---and she likes pie---so instead of birthday cake we had birthday pieit was a lovely weekend just playing, eating out---lots---watching lots of movies---chatting with my cute nephews and their lovely mom, Shelley...went to my home branch (now its a ward---my bro is bishop) and saw all the people that were adults when i was a kid---they are still adults---just really old now---what a great feeling---to walk into a ward and have people stream---yes---they streamed---almost formed a line---to hug me! one woman came up and introduced herself and said she felt like she should hug me because everyone else did! :) we visited my dad---mom goes over and talks to him---and prunes the grass around his headstone---my dad was a big hedger back in the day---so he would be very proud...
he would also love the view from his gravesite----a brand new Menards was built---which is a big Home Depot-type hardware store---and next to it is the first and only Super Wal-Mart in Freeport! His two favorite stores right across from him---my mom is a fun lady---she's a dynamo---yes---at 40 twice you can be called a dynamo---in the RS presidency, on the homeowners association board, grows vegetables in pots, volunteers at the hospital----she shops for shoes (they only have one Payless there---INSIDE the shopko---poor Freeport!)--colors her hair a lovely red--- funny story---when she was 25 she decided to color her hair---she had 1 1/2 kids at the time---or maybe just 1---but she was a college graduate---so anyway---she got mercurchrome and put it in her hair!---to make it red! mercurchrome was used back then to help heal cuts---and it hurt--and turned the skin around the cut bright red---anyway her hair turned out HORRIBLE---she went to church with a scarf----but ever since then she uses Nice & Easy medium Auburn!---she has a color pencil ready so if she 'goes'---we can touch up her hair.
ah that at 40 twice we can all be such....